Seattle's Safest Driver

Updated February 1, 2018

The Seattle’s Safest Driver’s contest is officially over. Thanks to more than 4,100 people for downloading the app and participating in the friendly competition to help make Seattle’s streets safer for all. Learn more about the winner and the contest results (good news: behavior changed for the better!) in our recap blog post and this one-page summary.

Download. Drive better. Win.

Up for a little friendly competition and safer streets?

Seattle's Safest Driver is an app-based safe driving competition, complete with cash prizes and bragging rights. In partnership with PEMCO Insurance and Cambridge Mobile Telematics, the 2-month competition seeks to change behavior and support Seattle's Vision Zero goal of ending traffic deaths and serious injuries on city streets by 2030.

Step 1 - Get the app and get moving.

Download the free app and it'll start tracking your trips - by car, bike, and transit (ferry, too!). You get scored for trips when you're behind the wheel. The app measures speed, acceleration, braking, cornering, and phone distraction. The safer you are, the higher your score, and the more chances you have to win a variety of prizes (mmm hmm, prizes - read more about them in Step 3).

Anyone can download the app, but we do have eligibility requirements for prizes. You need to be at least 18 years old, a resident of King, Pierce, Snohomish, or Kitsap County, and a portion of your trips must occur within the city of Seattle. This is, after all, a competition for Seattle's safest driver. For all the details, check out the contest's terms and conditions.

Settle the age-old debate of who's the better driver - invite your friends and family to compete and see how you rank against each other. Get feedback and tips on how to improve, and earn achievement badges. Friendly competition is fun, but traffic safety is no game. Working together, we can make Seattle's streets safer for everyone.

Step 3 - Compete for prizes!

We realize it takes some carrots to incentivize good behavior. Thanks to a partnership with PEMCO Insurance - a company that shares our vision for safe streets - eligible participants can compete for nearly $15,000 in prizes, including a grand prize of $2,000. Cash. 2nd place gets $1,000, and 3rd place gets $500.

The competition runs for 8 weeks, November 20, 2017 through January 14, 2018. In addition to the cash grand prizes, you can compete for biweekly rewards in several categories. Every other week, we'll push out these prizes:

Best driver: Top 3 drivers will get a $50 Amazon gift card

Most improved driver: Top 2 drivers will get a $50 Amazon gift card

Least distracted driver: Top 2 drivers will get a $50 Amazon gift card

Most transit trips: Top 2 transit takers will get a $50 Amazon gift card

Most bike trips: Top 2 bicycle riders will get a $50 Amazon gift card

Random sweepstakes winner: 2 people will get $25 Amazon gift card

Our partners at Lyft are also stepping in with ride credits, to the tune of $50 to 6 people every other week, plus $100 going to 4th, 5th, and 6th places. Woot!

Questions?

Check out these Frequently Asked Questions for answers to general ins and outs of the competition, as well as technical questions about the app. Here are a couple of the top FAQs:

Why are you making a game out of safety?

Traffic safety certainly isn't a game, and Seattle's Safest Driver is about more than winning: it's about behavior change. Data shows that attentive drivers can help save lives. The competition is an engaging way to encourage drivers to use more caution and make Seattle's streets safer for everyone.

Our goal is aligned with Seattle's Vision Zero efforts to end traffic deaths and serious injuries on city streets by 2030 by improving driver behavior through an educational, informative, and friendly competition. Participants can win prizes based on their ability to drive safely and for improvement. Every time they complete a trip and see their score, they receive tips on how to improve and be a safer driver.

We're modeling this effort after a similar competition in Boston, which saw substantial behavior change during their 2-month competition that engaged close to 5,000 residents. The top 25% of app users saw a 35% reduction in speeding and a 47% reduction in phone use.

Will you have personal info about my driving habits if I download the app?

The City values participants' privacy. While the competition needs some data in order to give feedback on driving behavior and award prizes, we also ensure that the City does not learn specific information about each driver.

The City doesn't collect data directly. We've partnered with Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT) to develop the app, based on their work with the City of Boston. To provide drivers with feedback on their behaviors and award prizes to the winners, CMT collects email addresses, zip codes, phone sensor data, location data, and badges earned. CMT collects driver scores and data at the individual level, then they anonymize data within 60 days after the competition ends so that it cannot be used for any other purpose, and finally they provide the City with summarized reports at the zip code level.

The email you supply will be used in conjunction with your score, to identify and notify winners. The City receives email addresses for purposes of communication about this competition and we share winners' email addresses with our partner PEMCO Insurance for the sole purpose of communicating with winners about their prizes.

You are providing your information to the City of Seattle, Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT), and PEMCO Mutual Insurance Company (PEMCO). The information you provide will only be used in accordance with the City of Seattle's privacy policy.

Please note that the City of Seattle is subject to the Washington Public Records Act, Chapter 42.56 RCW. By participating in Seattle's Safest Driver, any records you submit to the City of Seattle may be subject to disclosure pursuant to the Public Records Act.

Please note: Apple®, Google®, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube are not sponsors or otherwise associated with the Contest or Sweepstakes, nor are any of these entities responsible in any manner for this Promotion including the conduct of the Promotion or the awarding of any prize.